Security Consultancy take on App Dev in Grant Thornton…

On Tuesday 2^nd September a record 3,856 runners making up 964 teams took part in the third annual Grant Thornton Corporate 5k Team Challenge in the Dublin Docklands. Among them were 8 runners making up 2 teams for Ward Solutions. The event was run in aid of LauraLynn with 10% of the entry fees going to that charity, with more being raised through sponsorship of the individual teams.
For some of us, our warm up consisted of the adrenalin pumping stress of driving from City West into the docklands, through rush-hour traffic. Arnaud had planned to take a bike from Harolds Cross – but the City Bikes had a glitch and the stations were out of order. He phoned Sinead, to say he’d be late as he had now had to walk to the docklands. Sinead was in her car by the canal, looking for a parking space in order to hop on one of aforementioned bikes. Her heart rate was close to max without running a step! But we made it in time, arriving looking like we’d finished already!
The Ward Solutions teams, like many of the others, were made up of a mix of serious and fun runners. Team 1, the Security Consultancy team led by marathon runner Brendan Fay, were hotly fancied to take the honours. However despite having a lower average age by 6 years, they were beaten on the night by Team 2 from Application Development and Sales. Credit must be given to the youngest runner, Xiuyuan Yu, who was drafted into Team 1 at the 11^th hour in place of Richard Costelloe, who had very inconsiderately gone on holiday! Xiuyuan is a sprinter, and did well complete the 5k course in a very respectable time. Brendan Gormley posted the best Ward time of 23:39, with Brendan Fay in 25:06 and allegedly injured Arnaud Autin with 25:09. If Arnaud posts that time while injured, he’ll be some asset when he’s recovered.
Team 2, had a perfect blend of youth and experience. Philip Bustard led the team home in 25:53, Richard Eyres in 27:13, Brendan Molloy in 27:53 and Sinead Harrington in 30:55. Their combined scores just pipped Team 1 for bragging rights, not that we in App Dev brag – we leave that to other Ward teams.
After a restorative cup of tea and sandwich in race headquarters in CHQ, we retired to the “Harbourmaster” for a team debrief and to plan a strategy for next year. It’s a simple one– train more, get faster! A year seems so far away – we’ll have to find another race. We’ve been bitten by the running bug.